


War Heroes

by lary



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Study, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-30
Updated: 2014-01-30
Packaged: 2018-01-10 15:17:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1161222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lary/pseuds/lary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The second war is starting and the forces of Light are gathering. Snape is unimpressed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	War Heroes

**Author's Note:**

> This is rather a grim interpretation of what is going on in Snape's head. I'll share it anyway.
> 
> I don't own them.

 

 

Severus Snape had always known that in order to survive the war between the Light and the Dark, it was necessary to choose a side.

 

During his school years at Hogwarts, he became familiar with Dumbledore, the leader of the side of Light. A wizard of considerable power and a vision of the Greater Good. A vision he would pursue via any means he deemed necessary.

 

As a Slytherin, Severus was allowed to see Dumbledore's character clearly, and there was little to suggest that the man should be held in such a high regard as the wizarding world did. Respect for the power he wielded – most definitely. Adoration – most definitely not.

 

His fallout with Lily had been devastating, but it had paved the way for true allegiances with the Dark Side. Snape had been seventeen when he had met the Dark Lord the first time, and the wizard had been as powerful and captivating as the rumours had deemed him to be. Like Dumbledore, the Dark Lord had his vision of the preferable world order, and would stop at nothing to achieve it.

 

Both leaders were cunning, manipulative, and secretive, and held more power than Severus wanted to be up against. But he needed to choose a side.

 

He chose the Dark Side. He'd always preferred the devil he knew. 

 

He got the Mark as soon as he was out of Hogwarts, and his intelligence and skill secured him a place in the Dark Lord's inner circle. He found the demands of the war distasteful, and the company of most Death Eaters uninteresting. The pedestrian glee taken by many of the Dark Lord's followers from torturing helpless muggles for sport left an ashen taste in his mouth.

 

Of course, there was also the knowledge that any failure would be punished viciously. The Dark Lord had no mercy, and didn't hesitate to crucio or kill his followers when he deemed it prudent.

 

During his first year in the service of the Dark Lord, Severus had already seen more death than he would have cared to see in a lifetime.

 

Yet, he was alive and unharmed, having made sure never to disappoint. Furthermore, he had access to vast amounts of knowledge about Dark Arts, the likes of which were available nowhere else, and he soaked it up with reverence. Additionally, there was the power that came from his position. While obviously not to be trusted, there were several people worth knowing. Thankfully, not all of the Death Eaters were as crazed as Bellatrix, and the gatherings the Dark Lord held with those that were more intelligent and ambitious were downright pleasant. 

 

He never regretted his choice – not until Lily's murder in the hands of the Dark Lord.

 

And that is is how he ended up here. The second war of Light and Dark, and the second first meeting of the Order of Phoenix. Risen from the ashes. How very much like the Dark Lord.

 

How he hated Dumbledore's inane pleasantries and subtle manipulations, concealed behind the Caring Headmaster Act that most of the imbeciles around him were blissfully unaware of.

 

How he hated the arrogant little hypocrites who had made his childhood a living hell. At least there was some sense of justice, knowing that the lives of Gryffindor Golden Boys had amounted to even less than Snape's own. Black was an insane man under house arrest. Lupin was a pathetic weakling whose peak moment had been the year he'd been allowed to hold the hands of snivelling little children at Hogwarts. And Potter was six feet under. At least the Dark Lord had gotten something right.

 

How he hated the sight of the boy for whom his best friend had sacrificed her life. Of all the insufferable children he was forced to teach, the boy was the worst. Despite the fact that he, apparently, was to defeat the Dark Lord, the brat refused to apply himself, to gain the knowledge, to hone the magical power within him, to gain the control he would need for such a task.

 

What Severus lived for, it all relied on Harry Potter. Often he wondered if there was anything worth staying alive for.

 

 


End file.
